Reciprocal Teaching

A review of 19 experimental studies

Abstract

Since the introduction of the concept of reciprocal teaching by Palincsar and Brown in 1984, researchers have conducted a number of studies that attempted to replicate and/or extend the original one. A review was conducted of 19 studies that used reciprocal teaching to help students improve their ability to comprehend text. The review found that (a) results were usually more significant when explicit instruction in the cognitive strategies was provided before the reciprocal teaching began than when reciprocal teaching only was used; (b) results were mostly non-significant when below-average students were taught, yet usually significant when all other students were taught; and (c) results were usually significant when experimenter-developed tests were used, yet usually non-significant when standardized tests were used.